Academic Accommodation's Relationship to Essential Learning Requirements

As per college policy, including but not limited to the Academic Accommodations for Students With Disabilities Policy and provincial human rights law, academic accommodation of students with disabilities unfolds as an individualized, course-by-course, term-by-term process. Course instructors and departments play an important role in this dynamic and consultative process guided by key concepts, key content and some limitations.

Academic Accommodations seek to adapt the condition, manner and durations in which students demonstrate their knowledge but must not interfere with or lower essential learning requirements / essential academic task requirements.

Academic accommodations typically apply to:

• The way information, directions and content is presented (e.g., text, lecture, video, experiential)
• The way in which the student is asked to respond (e.g., writing, speech, practical)
• The characteristics of the setting (e.g., lighting, seating, location)
• The timing, scheduling and sequencing of the instruction and/or assessment (e.g., time of day, length of assignment, time given for pre-reading before being evaluated, etc.)
• The tools students use in learning and evaluation